When I first heard about Firefly, all I could think was, “Hmmm…live-action Cowboy Bebop.” The set-ups are remarkably similar-so much so that most feedback from geek cognoscenti has cried rip-off at every turn. Add to that the fact that this show is written by the same guy who gave us Buffy, and you’ve got a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
Well, I’m relieved to say that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Fox has been willing to take quite a few risks over the years, especially with their prime-time lineup. Sometimes they’ve stumbled and quickly moved past such mistakes, and sometimes they give the right push to something that turns out to be not only brilliant but highly influential. Witness the success of The Simpsons or the X-Files.
They’re certainly taking a big risk here. Prime-time science fiction hasn’t done well since the original Star Trek run in the ’70’s. The networks tried their hand repeatedly at it following the theatrical success of Star Wars, but the results were either terrible derivative and tepid (Buck Rogers) or they carried potential that went sadly untapped (Battlestar Galactica). Great shows like V or Outland were given an initial push, but were then left to fend for themselves in the rising tide of Miami Vice and Dallas. To the Big Three, it just wasn’t worth taking a risk for a cult show with a small (but dedicated and consistent) following when they could trot out less expensive but sure-fire cash cows.
Ladies and gents, that’s the mentality that started David Hasselhoff’s career. We are now living in the cultural aftermath of that.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand: the anemic state of television sci-fi. Star Trek: The Next Generation was left to languish on the UHF frequencies, but it quietly found its legs, and even though I was never a big fan of the original Bill Shatner Intergalactic Booty Hunt, I warmed to the more human crew helmed by Picard and company. Babylon 5 was another great example, but how many people ever saw it?
Then again, we’re talking science fiction here. Or, more accurately, science fiction fandom. Geeks like me will actually tune in to UPN at 4:30 in the morning for a show we like. We actually go out looking for this stuff rather than sit idly by and take what’s pushed to us. The networks probably know this, so they don’t take any pains to dislodge this week’s Celebrity Boxing in favor of it. They know they’ve got a built-in audience (most of whom consume far too much caffeine and are up at such hours anyhow), and they know we’ll seek it out whenever they schedule it.
So why put such a big push behind Firefly? There’s no gratuitous violence, and I’ve only witnessed one scene of (implied) nudity. No catfights, no sex, no blood spewing…
Where’s the ratings in that?
We know that the entertainment industry doesn’t treat its consumers as if they’ve got the slightest glimmer of intelligence, so why the heck are they showing a science fiction show at 8:00 on Friday night of all times?
Part of the decision may lie with its creator. Against the odds, Joss Whedon took the godawful premise of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (oh, come on…you try pitching that one to a bunch of network execs) and turned it into a campy, smart, and enduring franchise that spawned two successful spin-offs. That earns some clout, certainly, but it doesn’t explain the gamble that Fox is taking with this.
The only explanation I can imagine is that Whedon’s got the show mapped pretty far out into the future, and that it’s building to something truly extraordinary. Even though the first two episodes were only on the better side of okay, the third (which boasts almost no action and very little in the way of “sci-fi” elements) shows Whedon firing on all cylinders. We’re still getting to know these characters, and it’s obviously taking the actors a bit of time to get comfortable with their roles, but the writing is what really shines in this episode.
Even when the actors fall a bit short, the writing is quick and sure-footed, and tonight’s episode showed some real (and hilarious) chemistry between the characters. Zoe’s obviously loyal to Mal, but she’s not above making him squirm. We learn a bit more about her odd relationship with Wash, which is thankfully implied rather than being subject to pages of expository dialogue, and Mal’s confusion and awkwardness around his “wife” were perfectly laid out. (One-liner of the season: “Oh, I’m going to the special Hell.”)
The other characters, such as the Preacher, the Doctor and Rei^H^H^H^River, and Jayne seem to be cardboard cut-outs for now, but at least the core is getting some development. If anything, a show like this needs to run on an ensemble cast, and the potential’s there. So far, something worth sticking with.
Now on to the big gripe. Cowboy Bebop, from which Firefly lifted a great deal of its premise and atmosphere, did this all before, and did a much better job of it. Now Bebop isn’t exactly something most folks have seen or even heard of. It’s an anime series that ran for 26 episodes on Japanese prime-time a couple of years back, and which has recently been released here. Edited versions of some of the episodes can be seen late at night on the Cartoon Network now and then, and Bandai has released the whole shebang on DVD. Again, something that geeks like me seek out, but which doesn’t exactly gain mainstream appeal.
Cowboy Bebop tells the story of a freebooting, delapidated ship called the Bebop which roams from world to world in the future Solar System picking up what work they can find, usually as bounty hunters. The ship is helmed by Spike, a John Cusack type with rakish charm and a dark past, and Jet Black, a burly disenfranchised police officer with a heart of gold. They are eventually joined by Faye, a woman whose own past is a mystery, even to her. Over the course of the show, each character’s past gradually catches up with them. The whole show is shot through with traditional cowboy/western imagery and music. Sound familiar? Yep.
(I plan to do a full writeup on the incredible and moving Bebop, but for now there’s a wonderful site here that more than does the show justice.)
Now, it’s highly doubtful that Whedon’s never heard of Cowboy Bebop. After all, this guy has earned himself sainthood in geek circles, and Bebop has a huge cult following. At some point, someone must have mentioned this to him. Either that, or this is an intentional move on his part, perhaps an homage. In either case, anything that earns some exposure for Bebop is kosher in my book, and since I doubt it’ll ever be adapted for the stateside small-screen, Firefly makes a promising substitute.
Quick science note. Congrats to the writers for knowing that gunshots would not make any sound in the vacuum of space. Most shows get that wrong. However, Jayne’s comment about the gun needing oxygen to fire was incorrect. Bullets have all the neccessary combustibles in the shell, and can be fired underwater. If anything, bullets would travel faster in a vacuum since they would encounter no air resistance. Still, not bad, guys.